Our Roots Run Deep

Jeff Rowe's family has farmed in Illinois for 200 years. Five generations who have worked the soil, watched the seasons, and understood that farming is as much about responsibility as it is about results.

"Being a farmer is a sense of responsibility to future generations, to the environment, to the ecosystem, and to stay relevant," Jeff says. "A lot of it starts right here with the soil — probably one of the most complex things on the planet."

Jeff still returns to the farm regularly, and says it never loses its pull. Early mornings, the whole day ahead, the quiet satisfaction of honest work. It's a rhythm that stays with you, and one that informs how Jeff leads today.

Justin Wolfe didn't choose agriculture, it chose him. Growing up on a family farm in Montana, working the land wasn't optional. His father expected it, and Justin delivered. He didn't always appreciate the weight of it in the moment, but he's never stopped carrying it.

"It rooted agriculture in my DNA, and that's why I never left it," Justin says. "You don't appreciate until later in life how hard you worked. It wasn't easy — but it was very rewarding."

That grounding also informs how he approaches his work today. "You don't have to be a farmer to understand one," he adds, "but you've got to listen well."

Steve Hawkins was up before the sun as a boy, feeding cattle on a 100-acre farm in Ontario — the kind of upbringing that leaves a mark. Five generations of his family have farmed Canadian soil, and to this day, Steve and his wife still maintain that family farm. He has never lost the farmer's instinct: finish this harvest, and you're already thinking about next season.

"Farming is the most important job in the world," Steve says. "All of our futures depend on it."

It's a perspective he has carried through a career spanning decades and continents, and one that still drives how he shows up for farmers.